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Civil Engineering & Construction vocabulary · Structures and Loads

Deflection

Meaning in civil engineering & construction, with examples

/dɪˈflekʃən/nounCommon term

In civil engineering & construction, deflection means: The amount a beam, slab or other member bends or moves under load, measured as a distance, usually at the middle of the span.

In Turkish: sehim, düşey yer değiştirme

How it is used

Codes set deflection limits, often as a fraction of the span such as span/250. Excessive deflection may not be dangerous, but it can crack finishes and partitions, so engineers check it as well as strength.

Example sentences

  1. The long-term deflection of the slab is cracking the partition walls below.

  2. Deflection, not strength, controls the depth of this beam.

Common collocations

  • deflection limit
  • long-term deflection
  • excessive deflection
  • mid-span deflection
  • beamA horizontal structural member that carries loads across an opening and passes them to the columns or walls at its ends. It works mainly in bending.
  • spanThe distance between two supports of a beam, slab or bridge. As a verb, to span means to stretch across a space from one support to another.
  • slabA flat, horizontal concrete element that forms a floor or a roof. It carries the loads on its surface and passes them to beams, walls or columns.
  • bending momentThe turning effect of loads on a beam or slab that makes it bend. It is measured in kilonewton-metres (kNm) and is largest where the member is most heavily stressed.
  • cantileverA beam, slab or other structural element supported at one end only, with the other end projecting freely, as in a balcony or a canopy.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Structures and Loads

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